Warner Brothers has begun offering major film releases as apps for Apple iPhone and iPad, starting with the films Inception and The Dark Knight.
The movies-as-apps concept is novel and potentially offers consumers a better bargain than the traditional...

Zombies, basketball and Jesus Christ have been hot television properties during the past week. The Nielsen company said that AMC's fifth season finale for "The Walking Dead" on Sunday was seen by 15.8 million viewers. That's the third biggest...

A year ago, Echosmith was an unknown maker of guitar-based pop with a debut album, "Talking Dreams," from Warner Bros. Records. Now, just weeks away from her 18th birthday, Sydney Sierota and her three brothers are platinum-selling artists,...

Now that Fox has established "Empire" as the biggest new hit of the television season, it has to work on the rest of its lineup. The music business family drama logged 17.6 million viewers for its first season finale last week, easily the most...

The Paley Center for Media sits in the axis of the media universe in New York.
The museum is within walking distance of the headquarters of CBS, NBCUniversal, 21st Century Fox and Time Warner. There, television leaders hobnob during industry breakfasts...

Sony jumped into the pay-television business Wednesday with an online package of more than 50 channels starting at $50 a month. It's the most complete of the Internet-only offerings, but also the most expensive. In the works for more than a year, the...

Behind substitute anchor Lester Holt, NBC's "Nightly News" won its 286th consecutive week in the ratings — but only by the barest of margins. The Nielsen company said NBC's news program averaged 8.13 million viewers last week, a mere 11,000...

Chris Dodd swept through Hollywood like he was still campaigning for office.
On a recent three-day road trip to Los Angeles, the former U.S. senator — now Hollywood's chief lobbyist — visited the home of Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Michael...

"Let It Go" may be Walt Disney's anthem these days, but "Everything's Coming Up Roses" might be the more accurate theme song for the Disney juggernaut. Disney's recent streak continued over the weekend with the $70.1 million North...

It’s a busy afternoon at home for Sydney Sierota, just weeks away from her 18th birthday, sitting by the light of a living room window as a hair and makeup artist prepares her for another night onstage. Waiting on a nearby hanger is a sparkling silver...

Singer-songwriter John Hiatt was onstage several years ago at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica when he paused to introduce a new song to the audience.
"The trick with a new song," said Hiatt, a songwriting veteran whose work has been...

It’s apparently true what they say about how advantageous it can be to have a fairy godmother.
Disney’s live-action “Cinderella” lapped the field in Friday's domestic box office returns estimated by Box Office Mojo, raking in $23 million.
“Run...

Imagination might carry us to new worlds, but the people doing the imagining are often exactly as you'd expect.
The executive with the greatest influence on family entertainment is Pixar chief John Lasseter — a jovial, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing father of...

One of Walt Disney Co.'s most storied princess properties is meeting the company's two newest royals at the multiplex. And the pairing could bring a happy ending at the box office for the Burbank entertainment giant.
The new live-action version of...

In less than a month, people in the U.S. will be able to subscribe to HBO without a cable or satellite TV subscription. The stand-alone HBO Now streaming service unveiled this week will debut in time for the April 12 season premiere of "Game of...

For the eighth straight time, Fox's music business soap "Empire" pulled in more viewers than it had the previous week, an unusual standard of success that appears to be unprecedented in the modern television era. The series' ninth episode...

A 4-D version of the hit "Lego Movie" is being filmed to show at 17 Legoland parks and discovery centers around the world.
Merlin Entertainment, owners of the Legoland parks, announced Wednesday that it is partnering with the producer of the...

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Lionsgate, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.99
Available on VOD------------FOR THE RECORD: "The Hunger Games": In the New Releases column of the March 1 Calendar section, a review of the home theater release of the...

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” racked up $22.1 million last week at the mainland Chinese box office but was bested for the top spot by the local romance “Somewhere Only We Know.”
Boosted by Valentine's Day, Xu Jinglei’s Prague-set love story...